Paul Greengrass in talks to helm "The Stand"

The 58-year-old filmmaker is negotiating a deal with Warner Bros. to helm the film adaptation of Stephen King's 1978 novel after director Scott Cooper stepped down earlier this month, according to BadassDigest.com.

Ben Affleck was previously believed to be directing but quit in August this year after he was cast as Batman in the sequel to 'Man of Steel'.

Affleck had a ''hard time'' getting to grips with the plot and understanding how the sequence of events would play out in the post-apocalyptic fantasy flick.

He previously said: ''Right now we're having a very hard time. But I like the idea - it's like 'The Lord of the Rings' in America. And it's about how we would reinvent ourselves as a society. If we started all over again, what would we do?''

'The Stand' is about the aftermath of a super-flu virus that wipes out 99 per cent of the human population.

It was previously adapted for television in a 1994 miniseries starring 'CSI: New York' star Gary Sinise and 'The Breakfast Club' actress Molly Ringwald.